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LN(1) FreeBSD General Commands Manual LN(1)
NAMEln -- make links
SYNOPSISln [-fs] source_file [target_file]
ln [-fs] source_file... [target_dir]
DESCRIPTION
The ln utility creates a new directory entry (linked file) which has the
same modes as the original file. It is useful for maintaining multiple
copies of a file in many places at once without using up storage for the
``copies''; instead, a link ``points'' to the original copy. There are
two types of links; hard links and symbolic links. How a link ``points''
to a file is one of the differences between a hard and symbolic link.
The options are as follows:
-f Unlink any already existing file, permitting the link to occur.
-s Create a symbolic link.
By default, ln makes hard links. A hard link to a file is indistinguish-
able from the original directory entry; any changes to a file are effec-
tively independent of the name used to reference the file. Hard links
may not normally refer to directories and may not span file systems.
A symbolic link contains the name of the file to which it is linked. The
referenced file is used when an open(2) operation is performed on the
link. A stat(2) on a symbolic link will return the linked-to file; an
lstat(2) must be done to obtain information about the link. The
readlink(2) call may be used to read the contents of a symbolic link.
Symbolic links may span file systems and may refer to directories.
Given one or two arguments, ln creates a link to an existing file
source_file. If target_file is given, the link has that name;
target_file may also be a directory in which to place the link; otherwise
it is placed in the current directory. If only the directory is speci-
fied, the link will be made to the last component of source_file.
Given more than two arguments, ln makes links in target_dir to all the
named source files. The links made will have the same name as the files
being linked to.
SEE ALSOlink(2), lstat(2), readlink(2), stat(2), symlink(2), symlink(7)HISTORY
An ln command appeared in Version 1 AT&T UNIX.
4th Berkeley Distribution December 30, 1993 4th Berkeley Distribution